Spectral Taxonomy is a collection shaped through sustained attention
to coral reefs and the structures that remain as they disappear.
Rather than reconstructing the reef,
these works observe its gradual unraveling through layered paper lamellae,
allowing absence to emerge through
accumulation, erosion and light.
Each work asks whether witnessing might itself become an act of care.
VEIL OF ERASURE
Spectral Taxonomy, 2025
Paper sculpture installation
170 × 154 × 7.5 cm Framed
37 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Stephen Francis Atelier
Veil of Erasure received a Merit Award at the Luxembourg Art Prize 2025,
recognised for its capacity to transform environmental data into material elegy.
ULTRAMARINE REQUIEM
Spectral Taxonomy, 2025
Paper sculpture installation
60 × 56 × 7.5 cm Framed
5 kg (without glass) | 7 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
VEIL OF MEMORY
Spectral Taxonomy, 2025
Paper sculpture installation
55 × 55 × 7.5 cm Framed
5.2 kg (without glass) | 7.3 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
BLOOM RESIDUUM
Spectral Taxonomy, 2025
Paper sculpture installation
70 × 62 × 7.5 cm Framed
6.2 kg (without glass) | 9.3 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
Liminal Specimens
Fifteen laminae functioning as specimen studies within Spectral Taxonomy – Marine Elegies
Mineral Silence / Pale Foundations
Lamina I – V
LAMINA I
CALCITE DRIFT
Calcite as residue: structure remaining after function has withdrawn.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA II
TIDAL REMNANT
Erosion recorded as surface memory, shaped by repetition rather than impact.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA III
SILICATE PULSE
Latent heat embedded within mineral tones, foreshadowing thermal stress.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA IV
DRIFT POLYPHONY
Fragmented systems held in quiet dissonance, cohesion beginning to loosen.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA V
BRINE SKETCH
Salt acting as author, leaving marks already in the process of fading.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
Bleach States / Micro Persistence
Lamina VI – X
LAMINA VI
BLEACHPRINT
Heat and light inscribed directly onto paper, bypassing representation.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA VII
DIATOM HUM
Micro-ecologies acknowledged through near-invisible chromatic presence.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA VIII
WHISPER ALGAE
Life persisting at the threshold of visibility, without guarantee of continuity.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA IX
SALT MEMORY
Chemical memory held within fibre long after the event has passed.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA X
PALE CHROMA
Colour destabilising as it withdraws from structural support.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
Dissolution / Residual Spectrum
Lamina XI – XV
LAMINA XI
EVAPORANT
Material suspended in a state of near-disappearance.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA XII
TRACE FOSSIL
Absence pressed into form through weight, pressure, and time.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA XIII
FRACTURED BLOOM
Beauty under thermal strain, unable to complete its own emergence.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA XIV
SUBAQUEOUS SHARD
Light compressed beneath surface, shaped by depth and pressure.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
LAMINA XIV
GHOST LAMELLA
The spectrum held only as echo, approaching material silence.
Spectral Taxonomy, 2026
Paper sculpture installation
30 × 30 × 5 cm Framed
2 kg (with glass)
Unique work
Status: Available
Enquiries: Tina Skukan Gallery
COLLECTION NOTES
Spectral Taxonomy is a collection shaped through sustained attention to coral reefs and the fragile structures that remain as they disappear.
Working with layered paper, staining, embossing and deliberate material intervention, the series allows the paper itself to register erosion, pressure and time. Rather than representing the reef, each work undergoes its own quiet transformation.
Commenced: 2025 – Present
Status: Ongoing
Works: 19 completed
EXPLORE
→ Available for Acquisition: 19
→ Commission Enquiries
MATERIALS
Hahnemühle Britannia paper, vellum, tea, acrylic ink, acrylic paint, water, embossing, tearing, archival mounting and shadow box presentation.
SPECTRAL TAXONOMY
Spectral Taxonomy is a body of work shaped through sustained attention to coral reefs and the fragile architectures they leave behind.
Working with layered paper, staining, tearing, embossing and environmental exposure, these works translate coral bleaching into material form. Rather than reconstructing the reef, the paper undergoes its own gradual transformation, allowing absence to emerge through accumulation, erosion and light.
The series asks a simple question: how might we witness what is disappearing? Rather than treating materials as passive supports, each sheet becomes part of the record itself, carrying the marks of time, pressure and change. In this way, the work becomes both document and elegy.
The title brings together two ways of seeing. Spectral speaks both to ghosted absence and to scientific observation. Taxonomy refers to the naming of living systems. Together they suggest an archive made while the subject is still disappearing.
Across monumental installations and intimate studies, Spectral Taxonomy explores how fragile materials can hold ecological memory without attempting to preserve it. Instead, the work remains with disappearance, asking whether witnessing might itself become an act of care.
Spectral Taxonomy is part of Material Elegies, an ongoing practice exploring memory, transformation and the practice of attention through vulnerable materials.